This invention relates in general to antifriction bearings, and more particularly to bearings of that type having cages which will not spin at high speeds when subjected to high velocity jets of air.
Tapered roller bearings are used in a wide variety of machinery including automotive equipment. Irrespective of its purpose, the machinery at times must be disassembled, and when disassembly requires removal of the bearings, they are usually cleaned.
Typically, a tapered roller bearing is cleaned by immersing it in a solvent which removes both the lubricant, which is normally grease or oil, and dirt which may have contaminated the lubricant. In this regard, the typical tapered roller bearing of the type used in automotive equipment is usually supplied in two components, namely a cup or outer race and a cone assembly. The latter includes not only the cone or inner race, but also the complement of tapered rollers and a cage for holding the rollers around the cone when the cone is removed from the cup. During operation of the bearing the cage further serves to maintain the proper spacing between the rollers. The cup and the cone assembly are normally cleaned separately, that is, they are immersed in the solvent while separated from each other.
Once the cup and cone assembly are cleaned, they are then dried to remove the solvent and any particles of foreign matter that may be within it. Drying presents no problem insofar as the cup is concerned for all its surfaces are easily accessible and can be wiped dry with a rag or blown dry with a blast of air. The cone assembly however, is considerably more difficult to dry for the rollers and cage obscure critical surface areas on the cone. Blowing air into the cone assembly is often used as a means of drying it, but this method presents the possibility of setting the rollers and cage in motion so that they spin rapidly about the cone. In this regard, a jet of air issuing from the nozzle on the end of a high pressure hose will, if directed generally tangentially to the cage, propel the rollers and cage rapidly around the cone, sometimes at velocities exceeding 3,000 rev/min. This may seriously damage the bearing, particularly in view of the complete absence of lubrication in the bearing.